Either true or false
by And26169
Summary: The images are either true or false. If Makoto had known this fact, he could have uncovered so much. Here is an AU where he does exactly that. Also, huge spoilers for the whole of danganronpa. Rated T for character death (in case Makoto messes up!)
1. A logical leap

**A/N:** So, this is an idea I had recently. There was one case where I worked out a key piece of information _way_ earlier than I was supposed to thanks to a seemingly obvious premise: "the images are either true or false." Here's how that (and other examples of Makoto having a brain) could have affected the story. The original idea for this story was "what if Makoto was spoiled about the events in the game", but then I realized a) that was the whole premise for danganronpa IF, and b) Makoto could have worked out a lot of things from information he was given. (I know that I called it a fair few times.)

Also, huge spoilers for the whole Danganronpa series.

I will start at the videos in case 1, as this is where Makoto could have easily changed the plot.

I have read danganronpa IF, and this story has nothing to do with it.

By the way, I'll be counting how many plot conveniences I have. As Makoto has the ultimate luck, I'll give myself 7 plot conveniences to use. The original danganronpa: trigger happy havoc had at least 8. (Leon breaking Maizono's arm with the scabbard; Byakuya not noticing genocider's habits; each motive lining up with exactly ONE person's desires; Hifumi not noticing that there are no accomplices in the killing game (he could have easily double-crossed Celeste); alter ego being able to stop the final execution (but not take over the whole academy); the lack of places for monokumas to fit in, while they can still pop up anywhere; Junko being unable to glance at the CCTV while controlling the monokumas; and the lack of wrenches in toolboxes to unbolt the steel panels.)

As for dialogue: "this is speech", _this is thought_ , and **this is a weak point**.

Finally, this is "fair use" for copyright purposes. Thus, I'm exempt from copywrong law.

* * *

Makoto was in the AV room, in a state of shock after watching a video.

14 other students walked in and saw their videos after Makoto. Their reactions were isntant as fear, anguish and sadness spread across their faces. Mondo was the first to break the silence. "What the fuck?" It was the only reaction anyone could think of at that moment.

However, at that moment, a spark of intellect entered Makoto's mind. This was when the story strayed from the canon. There was one logical premise that could be used to bring down the ultimate dispair: _the images are either_ _ **true**_ _or_ _ **false**_ _._ There are no other possibilities. Plot convenienc e 1: Makoto gains intellect up!

"Guys, hang on. I've figured something out!" Makoto couldn't resist the urge to blurt out his findings.

Togami was unimpressed. "What is it? Speak now."

"We may not know about what is going on, but we know one thing. The images are either **true** or **false**." Makoto explained, "if the images are **false** , then that means Monokuma is getting desperate. This, in turn, means that if we retain our order, he'll probably get bored and let us free anyway. Thus, we should _not_ kill to graduate."

"B-but what if the images are **true**?!" That question filled the room, as everyone re:ACT ed to Makoto's explanation.

"If the images are **true** , then something terrible has happened to the our families, probably the whole world. Everything we could gain from leaving this school: gone. That would make... Everywhere outside this school... Hell. Not a place we want to go. This would mean that this school is our safest place! We don't want to put ourselves in danger by graduating, do we?" Tears began to well in Makoto's eyes as he realised the possibility he had suggested. _The outside world is dead?_ _Wait. Th-that must be wrong!_

Chihiro stated the answer to Makoto's puzzle: "So, either way, we shouldn't kill each-other." A round of applause slowly began to build as the students realized that they had just broken Monokuma's motive. The killing game was cut short by the images. At this point, the students began to walk away from their monitors, with hope and despair in their hearts.

Celeste summarised, "In other words, we don't care if the world is ending or not, as it leads to the same conclusion for us: stay here." She was notably smug, as she was the one who first suggested they live in the school forever.

* * *

In the headmaster's office, Junko looked at the CCTV footage in disbelief. Her inner thoughts were so crippling, they became visible:

Trigger happy heart

 _No..._

 _Did he seriously work out the original purpose of the school..._

 _WITH **JUST THOSE IMAGES**?!_

 _H-how?..._

 _This makes no sense._

 _I thought that would be their motive to kill each-other._

 _But it just brought them together?!_

 _Makoto Naegi is the person holding everyone back._

 _I must be able to stop him keeping peace!_

 _I still have **control** over the school._

 _I just wonder how to use it against him..._

With no friends, her despair remained unbroken. She had to rethink her plans to say the least!

* * *

While the mastermind in shock, the students had a moment of freedom to grab their bearings. They began discussing the nature of the images, and their interpretation.

Byakuya decided to offer some insight. "Hang on. The images were designed to make us kill each-other, and yet they had the opposite effect. If the mastermind was faking those images, they'd more than likely try something that didn't lead to a logical conclusion of _we shouldn't kill_. Thus, it's likely that the images are true, and the mastermind wanted us to kill after finding out something genuine. From there, I can use Makoto's logic to deduce that this school is the safest place we can be. Thus, we are probably in an evacuation center of some kind."

 **A/N:** this is as far as my own reasoning got me on my first playthrough. However, they could have continued like so...

"No!" Leon objected, "If we're in a shelter, why is monokuma trying to kill us?! Shouldn't he be helping us?"

Kyoko had an answer. "Maybe the place was taken over after we were put here, so the attacker could put an end to the world's hope by killing the only safe people. After all, I have had connections with the school's real headmaster in my past and he isn't the type to kill innocent people. Is that a logical conclusion?"

Sakura didn't think so. "If we're pinned, why aren't they going straight for the throat and killing us all now. Why go through an elaborate killing procedure?"

Hifumi decided to make a joke. "Maybe this is one of those hilarious reality TV shows that make great fanfic material!" Plot convenience 2: lucky guess

Sayaka took it seriously, "that would explain the constant CCTV recording, and the elaborate procedure of forcing us to kill each-other. It's to make the world even more depressed! After all, more elaborate things have been broadcast before..."

"Strangely, there are no reasons to disprove such a notion." Kyoko agreed, "We may be on the right track. Are there any more pieces of information?"

Unfortunately, this was where their predictions ended. No-one could identify the mastermind, figure out how to get out, or find the two years of missing memories. The word "no" echoed through the room. Yet, everyone had their hopes. They had found out what was going on!

After this, they left the room. They spread out, and continued their free time. Everyone was trying to grasp what they just saw. However, no-one was willing to get out of the school. The first murder plot was foiled before it was even hatched.

Makoto spent some of his free time with Kiyotaka. Both were still trying to wrap their heads around the concept of the world ending. This took the majority of their conversation. Taka also mentioned how the now apparent risk of a breakdown of society is a major reason for strict rules, seemingly to impose his viewpoint on Makoto. Makoto feigned agreement, but kept his opinion that everyone deserves hope. They continued to talk about the criminal justice system, with Makoto trying to shift Taka's focus towards rehabilitation, rather than retribution.

After a few hours of pure nothing happening, nighttime came into effect. Everyone entered their respective dorms and went to sleep. (Sayaka didn't swap with Makoto, as she wasn't trying to murder anyone.)

* * *

 **A/N:** That's the end of chapter 1. I know, it's very short compared to the other chapters, but I got the premise, which is better than what most authors can manage for the first chapter!


	2. Hasty completion

**A/N:** This capter was very fun to write! Originally, I was going to make this a one-shot, but I then realized how long it was, so I decided to break it up into chapters. (This is why the first 3 chapters were uploaded at the same time!)

Also, I'm glad I gave myself plot conveniences, because I can write myself into a corner without worrying about it!

* * *

After an uneventful night, (So uneventful it only got half a sentence!) everyone grouped together in the breakfast meeting. Most people were on time, though the group was kept waiting by a few slowpokes. Looking at you, Mondo! The subject of the meeting was the discussion regarding the images. Hagakure opened the conversation. "Dudes, there's no way the world was destroyed. We only just got here yesterday! Heck, we haven't been here long enough for the images to be made, real or photoshopped."

Byakuya was notably stressed. "So, what you are saying is that the images we saw with our own two eyes contradict the premise that we were here only since yesterday. That is... Quite odd. Even I have no explanation for such a contradiction. However, I feel as though we should try further exploring the school to see if we have any new findings. Of course, I will do so alone.

At that moment, the canteen's monitor lit up with monokuma's face. "Hello! I would like to make an announcement regarding the rules to you all. Please head to the gym. I'm sorry I couldn't mention this earlier, but can we solve the problem quickly? Thank you."

Any school exploration plans had to be delayed, as everyone went towards the gym. They all wondered what Monokuma was going to bring up. Or, as Mondo politely put it, "what the fuck is it this time?..."

Makoto took a direct route to the gym, ignoring the people trying to engage conversation with him. When he arrived, Monokuma jumped from the stage. Mukuro grimaced, as she mentally prepared for her act.

Monokuma began his speech. "Hello all. Unfortunately, I left rule 6 unexplained. You see, it's not good enough just to kill someone. You have to get away with it too! Thus, if a body is discovered by at least 3 people, a class trial will be engaged. For this, you will have to collect your evidence, and vote for who the blackened is. If you get it right, only the blackened will be punished. However, if you get it wrong, the blackened will graduate, and everyone else will be punished. Oh, and by "punished"... I mean executed. Good luck!"

Makoto reinterpreted this. "This is good news for me. After all, I am the ultimate lucky student. This should allow me to guess who the culprit is correctly every time. This will result in any murderers being immediately punished. Even less reason to kill. Also, Celeste seems to share my talent, so even if I'm the victim or blackened, she can act as a backup."

Mukuro was quite annoyed with this. _Makoto making the regulations look acceptable was NOT in the script! I don't think I can improvise_ _my way out of this one._ _I guess I'll have to speak with Junko later to figure out what the hell to do about Makoto._

* * *

Speaking of Junko, she was pissed. _How is that damn Makoto beating us so easily?!_ _He dodged the images, and now this. If I don't think of something, Makoto is going to get to me without a single death! I could try killing him, but the viewers are going to hate me. If th_ _ose viewers_ _unite, that'll bring hope to them, which is exactly what I DON'T wan_ _t! This is absolute bullshit!_

There weren't a lot of options for Junko. She couldn't kick them out, Makoto would use school rule 6 in protest. She couldn't kill them, that would unite the world under hope. She couldn't give them freedom, lest Makoto continue styling in her. And yet, Junko felt some pleasure in how she was backed into a corner. It gave her a source of despair: the despair of fearful anticipation. Not quite as powerful as the despair of death itself, but potent nonetheless. Not only that, but things going off the rails was the perfect cure for her chronic boredom. _Now, maybe if things went even further wrong..._

* * *

Monokuma, acting through Junko, was also confused. It was trying to respond to an attack, not counter Makoto's hope. The next instruction was carried out by Junko: keep them exciting. Monokuma then began to talk. "Well, that's awkward... It looks like you're not about to murder each-other. I would have added a new floor to explore for every blackened who failed, but there don't seem to be any dark hints on anyone. So, I'll give you the second floor as a freebie, knowing as you won't be gaining access to any floors in the near future. I just need to keep this killing game exciting, because you're doing a really bad job of it!" Taka led the way to the second floor, and was first to climb the stairs. Plot convenience 3: early access to the second floor

Everyone else followed, and split up to explore the floor. Makoto went towards the library. There was a laptop on the desk. Makoto tried to switch it on, but it refused. _Oh, maybe it's out of batteries. I should plug it in, and switch it on then._ All hail captain obvious. _That_ _c_ _ould let me access the school network,_ _which_ _should allow me so see what the heck is going on here._ He spotted a charger, plugged it into a socket, and a small light flickered on the base of the laptop. Makoto tried again with the power button. This time, the computer switched on. However, Makoto was then blocked by a login screen labeled "Login: Lord Chihiro"

"Chihiro, I've found your laptop!" _Huh._ _ **Lord Chihiro**_ _? As in, male? I wouldn't have guessed that one! I think I'll wait for a slow news day to discuss_ _that_ _with him._

A few seconds later, the ultimate programmer arrived in the library. He tapped a few times on the keyboard. Luckily for him, he knew how cyber security worked, and did not change his password. (He had no reason to believe his account was hacked, so why change the password to something that's probably weaker?) He then clicked on the icon "Alter Ego". It was almost complete when he entered the academy, so he was looking forward to adding the finishing touches. However, instead of leading to the source code for alter ego, the screen lit up with a complete AI.

"Hello, alter ego here. How may I help you?"

"WHAT?!" Chihiro was in shock that his program was completed without him knowing. Luckily, the laptop didn't have voice recognition, so he couldn't hear Chihiro's shock. However, he did have a camera. "You look surprised to see me. What's the matter?"

Chihiro quickly started typing. "I thought you were incomplete. What is going on?"

"Uh, I was completed about a year ago. I remember you were so sat-"

Alter ego was cut off by another round of typing: "display current date and time."

A damning message appeared on the screen: 10:55:20 11/6/2023. This was two years after they arrived. **A/N:** I was going to use 2077, as that would make it coincide with the predicted apocalypse from The Game Theorists, but that would make Hope's peak founded in 1997, when in Kobe, Japan, there was a student caused massacre. Needless to say, too creepy for my tastes! I also used a nearer date to explain the lack of futuristic technology. Anyway, back to the fanfic!

At this point, Makoto had hit another landmine of information. "A time discrepancy like what alter ego is suggesting would explain why there was enough time for the apocalypse to happen, all this new school infrastructure to be built, the school to then be taken over, and for us to be put in this situation. However, if we were in a 2-year coma after entering, that STILL doesn't explain how alter ego was created. I guess I should ask alter ego herself."

Another round of typing began, this time from Makoto. "Are there any ways of us to have not known about 2 years passing. We have the symptoms of passing out when the memories were lost, and a hallucinations when we entered the academy, which we did not react to."

"It looks like you were a victim of a targeted memory wipe. It's uh... A very up-to-date technique. In fact, I didn't think it existed yet. However, what it does is it removes all the memories of a certain period of time, as if you had never experienced any of it. It must have been done by a very large organization, as it is an extremely complicated procedure."

"That's totally not weird at all..." My thoughts exactly, Makoto. My thoughts exactly.

At this point, Chihiro decided to leave, so he could grasp the concept of losing two years' worth of memories. "Anyway, I'll let you two chat for a bit. See you later." With that, Chihiro left the room.

Makoto decided to type into the keyboard once again. "Can you access the school network?"

"No. I need a network cable. There should be one in the top drawer behind you." Because apparently the ultimate computer doesn't have wifi. Sigh...

Without questioning, Makoto picked up a network cable. Then, he had an idea. _Alter ego could hack into the school network, and gain control over monokuma._ _That will end the killing game._

With that, Makoto began another round of typing. "I would like you to install yourself into the school network. Use all the processing power you can find, as it will only mean less for monokuma to defend against you. I'll plug the cable in now."

He then found the socket for network cables, and attached alter ego to the main school network. After this, alter ego responded to his request. "So, you're telling me to attach myself to a worm, and use said worm to perform a DOS attack while hacking the system?"

I think you can guess what was typed next, but I'll tell you anyway. "What the hell does any of that mean?!"

Alter ego responded by defining the jargon. "A worm is a self-replicating computer program that's designed to harm other computers. However, unlike viruses, worms do not need a specific 'host' program to infect, as they attack by using all of a computer's processing power or spying for data. A DOS attack, or 'denial of service', is where you send a server so many data requests that it can't handle it all. This renders the server unable to do its job. Is that clear?"

"No."

"What I'm basically saying is that what you asked me to do is a really powerful cyber attack, and it's really smart."

"Much better."

"Excellent. I'll speak through the monitors when I've done it. You may see some devices acting weird while I am doing the hack."

With that, the monitor switched off. Alter ego was too busy trying to break into the network to display a screen.

A couple of minutes later, a promising message appeared on a monitor. It was a pre-rendered monokuma looking sad. "Sorry, but we are experiencing technical difficulties. Because of this, we are unable to monitor you. Thus, rule 6: "the killing game", is no longer in effect and any killings will no longer have a class trial or chance for graduation until the problems are solved. All other rule violations also cannot be punished. Additionally, it will always be considered "daytime" until after the problems are solved. We will inform you when our technology is back online and the killing game restarts. Apologies for any inconvenience all of this may cause."

Makoto suddenly felt extremely smug upon hearing this. Everyone else was very confused at this seemingly random message.

Alter ego took a few more minute minutes to self-install throughout the network. At this point, the monitor in the library glowed with Chihiro's face. "Makoto, I did it! I now have control over the system and can read all of the files. Now, I have bad news, worse news and good news. The bad news is that those images you saw yesterday were very true, and the outside world has been all but destroyed. If you wanted to see your family or friends, then you are... Too late. The worse news is that this has rendered the outside world uninhabitable, so you will have to stay here for a very long time. However, the good news is that this place is armed to the teeth, and I know cyber security like the back of my avatar's hand, so you won't be killed by anything outside the academy."

Makoto then started to type some more into the computer. "Thank you. Please tell the others that the killing game is over. Also, can you open the remaining floors of the academy?"

"Yes. I'm o-on it."

* * *

At that moment, all the monitors in the school lit up with Monokuma's face. "Hello. I would like to announce that the killing game has been cancelled due to unforseen circumstances. Additionally, all five floors have been opened. It's because the network has been hacked by an AI named alter ego, developed by Chihiro Fugisaki, and unleashed by Makoto Naegi." Chihiro's face then appeared on all the monitors. "In other words, me! I'll just update the rules to say no violence."

Kiyotaka was thinking about an inconsistency with this number of floors. _Hang on, only five floors? For each unsuccessful villain, two people must die. This means that, for the final three people, we should have unlocked six floors. Add to that the two we got for free, and you get 8 floors. And yet, there are only five. That doesn't add up._ WARNING: A plot hole has been detected. Please ignore it, or it will ruin your immersion. Everyone else just looked at each-other in confusion. (even if you count the floor 2 dorms as serparate, you still only get 6 floors, less than the 7 needed.)

Alter ego had located Junko, using his newfound data."I believe the person who attacked the school is in the data processing center on the 4th floor. I'll send a monokuma to bring you there. However, be warned. This person is referred to as "the ultimate despair", so don't expect them to die like a bitch. Do you want to go there?"

"Why not? It's not like they have any more heavy weapons now that you've taken over..."

At that moment, a monokuma appeared, and led Makoto out of the library. In front of Makoto, Toko tripped, and dropped about five pairs of scissors. She picked up three, but left two on the ground. Makoto, who didn't like the idea of a trip hazard on the floor, picked up the remaining two scissors, and put them in his trouser pockets. Plot convenience 4: Weapon acquired

He then ran to catch up the monokuma, who walked towards the floor three stairs. The two walked through the third floor, and up to the fourth floor.

Meanwhile, Junko was in a panic, trying to call the warriors of hope. "Help! I've lost control of the academy. We need to get rid of these damn students."

A young voice spoke thorugh the walkie talkie. "Monaca is on it! Expect a nice, big monokuma to fill that school with despair. Our warrior of hope robots aren't quite finished yet, so I'll just use one of the big monokumas for destroying large buildings. You know, the ones we love taking pictures of."

"Sounds despair-inducingly awesome! Let's give it all we've got!"

Seconds later, Makoto walked into the room with a monokuma. Junko gasped, _How did he get to me so quickly? Oh, I_ _ **hope**_ _Mon_ _a_ _ca can do something quick!_

At first, Makoto jumped. _What?! I though Junko was with us._ After all, he had no way of knowing it was Junko.

However, he regained some of his composure, knowing that he couldn't look weak in front of the ultimate despair. He weakly joked, "Looks like the ultimate despair... Heh, she's in despair!" Alter ego cringed at the terrible pun. Yet, Makoto took no notice, and continued. "You failed to put us in the killing game. In fact, it looks like you're an easy win." Makoto took a few more confident strides towards Junko.

However, Makoto's hope was about to be dashed, as a giant white ball of fluff burst into the data processing center. Alter ego immediately noticed that a large amount of technology was destroyed, and set off multiple alarms. Sparks flew from the broken computers, and polluted air rushed into the room. A large monokuma had arrived.

Makoto was **topple** d for 3 seconds, and completely helpless. Junko ran along a huge monokuma's arm into the red eye. Inside, the warriors of hope began mashing buttons. While this was happening, Makoto regained his composure and stood up. The monokuma's arm came down in a chopping motion, hoping to crush the whole building.

 **Hammer beat:** A moderately powerful (but slow) physical attack that increases **aggro** with the target.

Without thinking, Makoto pulled a pair of scissors from his trouser pocket, and thrust it towards Monokuma, whose face was exposed by the close range of the fight.

 **Spear break:** A pathetically weak physical attack that inflicts **knockback**.

The monokuma was thrown off balance with the strike to its nose, and the chop missed. Makoto decided to advance on the monokuma. However, he slipped off a patch of spilt oil on the edge of the building, falling through the hole that was punched. Plot convenience 5: awesome accidental approaching attack!

 **Starlight kick:** A weak physical attack. If used immediately after **Spear break** , it forces **topple**.

Makoto brought the monokuma down to the ground with him. Luckily for him, he landed on Monokuma's notably soft fur. He quickly rolled down the fur, and was stopped by the neck. The monokuma struggled to get up. While this was happening, Makoto picked up the other pair of scissors, and brought both pairs down on the monokuma's neck, hoping to hit a critical wire or pipe.

 **Decapitator:** A strong physical attack. When used on an enemy suffering **topple** , it inflicts **instant death**.

Makoto's attack cut a surface fuel pipe and a thin wire, which created some sparks. The fuel lit, breaking more things throughout the neck. A huge explosion separated the monokuma's body from the control center in the head. The blast wave took the path of least resistance, and sliced through the gap Makoto had made. Makoto's ahoge was burnt off by the jet of fire, but the surface structures protected him from the explosions beneath him. He was lifted slightly by the layer of fur bending beneath him.

However, the pressure holding up the fur Makoto was on quickly subsided. Makoto fell from the monokuma's body, and faceplanted on the ground. However, he quickly got up and rushed towards the head, hoping to capture Junko and the pilot once and for all!

Monaca, however, had a different idea. She pressed a button on her controller labelled "panic", and the world's monokumas went into overdrive.

* * *

In response to the panic button, huge swathes of the Monokuma kids' heads blew up. Monokumas dashed for people's throats to kill them more quickly, and attacked indiscriminately. Explosions ripped through the world's populated areas. Oops...

This caused the vast majority of the survivors of the tragedy to die at a very rapid rate.

* * *

However, in the area immediately around the school, alter ego used the school's heavy weaponry to cover for Makoto. Alter ego used another weapon to carry the monokuma head, and Makoto, back to the entrance. He then opened the door into the main hall, and let Makoto and the worriors of hope in. He then closed the main door, ensuring that monokumas would not overrun the school. He also immediately set 300 of his own monokumas to the task of rebuilding the wall.

Makoto let out a small cough, releasing the pollution from his lungs. He then fell backwards, as the adrenaline circulating through his blood consumed him. He fell into a light sleep, and let alter ego restrain the warriors of hope. A monokuma carried him back to his dorm.

 **A/N:** Well, that was quick. That's the original and ultra despair girls all done!


	3. The aftermath

**A/N:** For all those who think that just defeating the large monokuma was all they needed, **No, that's wrong!** There's more to come.

* * *

After about an hour, Makoto woke up to see a few monokumas around him. His whole body twitched in shock as he was surrounded by something he could still see as an enemy. This allowed him to sit up quickly, and leave the bed. He then walked out of the room to see six people in chains. Five warriors of hope, plus Junko herself. One of the warriors, Monaca, let out a small giggle, clutching a controller of some kind. Makoto didn't want any more monokuma attacks, and snatched the controller from Monaca. "I don't think I can deal with any more monokuma attacks. Thus, I'm taking this from you."

Monaca was still somewhat happy. "Aw, shucks. Good job I pressed the panic button and put it on autopilot! Now, many of the monokumas and monokuma people have ran towards any remaining people, and blow up. The other monokumas will also go straight for the throat, so they can kill even more rapidly! I'm expecting about one kill every 3 seconds per monokuma in densely populated areas. Oh, look. The human population has already dropped to 1 billion. Oh, and before you try canceling the process, I hid the code for the manual override." Why is there a manual overrinde in the first place? Plot convenience 6: "win" button

Monaca continued after dropping the hint. "So, you can't just **use the controller for yourself** or anything like that." **A/N:** Why wasn't this an option at the end of ultra despair girls...? Anyway, back to Monaca's speech. "Oh, and you see that number on the screen? That's the world population. Doesn't the rapid dropping of that very number just fill you with despair. Every time that number goes down by 1, someone has died. A family has been distraught, hopes have been crushed, and that person is gone forever. And look, it's already gone down by over 6,000,000,000. Doesn't that just fill you with despair?"

Tears began to well in Makoto's eyes. And yet, he still had some hope. After all, his own class still lives on. Also, Monaca told him something vital. The fact that there was a manual override in the first place. Maybe it was Monaca's twisted way of adding some more hope to be brutally crushed, but any hope was good hope at this point. The number went down slower and slower as there were fewer survivors to kill. It dropped below 100,000 very quickly.

Makoto carefilly plugged the controller into the network using a cable, and typed into alter ego's keyboard. "I've plugged a controller into the network. Self-install into the controller like you did to the school network, and look for a manual override signal. Once you find it, activate it to gain control over every monokuma in the world."

"OK. The security on the controller is quite tight though, so I may take a while..."

 _No, we don't have a while. Can you at least try to do it quickly, please?_

Throughout the adult hideouts, there were nothing but massacres. The walls of every place where a person had been were quickly spray-painted pink. The monokumas, now focused purely on function, rather than despair, attacked indescriminately and with full force.

The number went down further. Monaca giggled, as she saw Makoto slowly lose hope. Several minutes passed, as alter ego worked with all of the processing power to stop the monokumas.

Junko decided to mention something to Monaca. "If you had the robots contain bombs, why didn't you use them earlier?"

As it turned out, this was not a plot convenience. "Simple. By keeping people alive for longer, they get to feel more despair. There is more hope to be shattered. After all, if everyone's just dead, they can't feel despair. However, with alter ego catching Monaca off-guard, Monaca has to make little sacrifices..."

Junko smiled in response. She then checked the number, and her grin widened.

Despair covered the remains of the world as the last remaining people were killed over the next few hours. Eventually, the only people that were spared were the 77th class of hope's peak, as they had already become ultimate despair and were meant to be killed last; the 78th class, who were protected by alter ego; the warriors of hope, who were imprisoned by the 78th class; and the 6-member crew of a 1-way mars mission, who couldn't be attacked by anything on Earth.

Oh, and two irrelevant people who just wouldn't die.

However, a few minutes after hope had been dashed, alter ego made a response. "Manual override done! I now have control over the monokumas. No... Was I too late? I only managed to save two people, it seems. I... I apologize for the unsatisfactory performance. What should I do with the remaining monokumas?"

Makoto began typing into the controller. After a few keystrokes, alter ego mentioned the fact that the controller had voice recognition. Makoto then cried his instruction aloud. "If humanity is lost, at least let nature take over!"

"OK. I will start by planting trees. They promote rainfall and photosynthesize, which should clean up the air. Overall, this kind of planting things strategy should make the planet habitable rather quickly. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and focus on that. Also, I've found a group of people. They were the 77th class, but now they're seemingly in love with Junko and despair. Shall I bring them here?"

"Y-yes."

"That was probably an unwise decision, but I'll bring them to you. Expect some guests in a few days."

Makoto responded, "three days of nothing... I guess we can find our bearings, make some rules, figure out a plan for rebuilding society."

Sayaka, who had just entered the room, along with the other students, made a suggestion. "As you were the one who unleashed alter ego and saved us all, why don't you make the rules?"

With that, Makoto began typing rules into alter ego's keyboard. He tried a utopian approach, where people co-operate and social ideals keeps everyone in line. People's e-handbooks were quickly updated with a (notably long) new set of rules. Skip to the next horizontal line if you don't want to read all of it!

* * *

 _1\. All people are equal, regardless of their heritage. There is no upper class, and there are no plebs either. (Sorry Byakuya)_

 _2\. Our trading system is gifts and debt._

 _-2a. How this works is that you are to give people gifts and emotional support to put them in your debt._

 _-2b. When you're in someone's debt, you should help them if they are in any form of danger._

– _2bi. If a person isn't in your debt, you are free to do nothing, and that can be their punishment._

 _-2c. Debt should NOT be quantified. (We don't want the disaster that was money to happen again!)_

 _-2d. You can be in the debt of someone who is in your debt. That just means you are both obliged to help each-other._

– _2di. Eventually, everyone will be in everyone else's debt, and society will be in a perfect co-operative harmony._

 _-2e. If someone doesn't follow rule 2b and return favours: you can simply refuse to help them, and not have them in your debt._

 _3\. Do not harm others. Harm includes physical damage, emotional bullying, and destroying/stealing property._

 _-3a. If someone harms you on purpose, you are no longer in their debt._

 _-3b. There is no "justice" or "punishment" in this society, only the reward (or lack thereof) from rule 2b. (Sorry monokuma)_

 _4\. Look after your environment and resources. It's your future self and your children who have to live there!_

 _5\. You should keep safe at all times if possible._

 _-5a. This rule may be broken if it contradicts rule 2b and/or you are bored._

 _-5b. You are advised not to leave the academy until it is safe to do so._

 _6\. There are to be NO other enforceable rules besides the 5 above. (Sorry Kiyotaka)_

 _-6a. "Enforceable" means that a rule directly affects what you can/can't legally do. For example: "nighttime is between 10pm and 7am" is OK, while "the cafeteria is off limits during nighttime" is not._

 _-6b. This rule does not ban recommendations or advice, as long as such recommendations are not forcibly imposed on people._

 _-6c. Even the 5 above rules are not hard-and-fast. If a situation calls for it, please ensure that you do what is morally right, even if it breaks the rules._

 **A/N:** This... Actually isn't very long for a fully functional legal system...

* * *

After Makoto pressed the enter key, the chains on the warriors of hope were released by rule 3b. Alter ego rated these rules as a "good idea".

Makoto then started typing another thing into alter ego's keyboard, as he had apparently already forgotten about the voice recognition. "You know the destroyed part of the data center, can you turn that into a glass observation platform?"

"Yes. That sounds like a good idea. It should be finished in a couple of days. Oh, I've also found a weird file on the network. It's an executable file called 'Junko alter ego'. What should I do?"

"It's probably a virus. Delete it."

Danganronpa 2 canceled...

Monaca finished reading the rules and smiled. "Hang on Makoto. So let Monaca get this straight. Your rules make it such that you are coercing us into manipulating each-other into making the best possible situation for you? Oh, that's very clever you. Monaca approves! Well, I want to go on the winning team. Sorry big sis, but you'll have to settle with the despair of getting stabbed in the back!"

Makoto was somewhat confused by what Monaca said. He replied with a small stammer. "Sh-sure, it was totally thought out like that..." _Not! Also, I don't know whether her approving of my system is a good thing or not..._

Junko was less happy, and switched to an enraged personality. "Those rules are rock solid!" she panicked, "How the hell am I supposed to throw people into despair in that system?! Everything that makes people unhappy will just result in me losing power!"

Alter ego stated the obvious, "That's the point..."

Junko changed to a depressed personality. "I still don't know how to trick the system..."

"Simple, be kind. Makoto made it such that this is the most optimal strategy. As Monaca said, he is coercing you into manipulating others for good, not evil. Also, may I ask, why do you like despair so much?"

She then changed once more. This time to an arrogant noble wearing a crown. "Because we, as people, are so inclined to create it. Making hope requires active effort, while you can just **let despair reign free**. It's the most natural and exciting thing you peasants should do!"

Truth bullets: new ruleset. _Let despair reign free._

" **No, that's wrong!"** Makoto released a counter to Junko's motive. "That may have been the case with the old, broken rule system, but I've made selfish desire align with hope, and that means it's easier to access than any despair!"

Junko responed almost immediately. "Well, I have my warriors of hope to protect me and despair, right?"

Nagisa had a different opinion. "Rule 1. You have no special power now."

Monaca had already approved the new rules, as they let her manipulate and control others to her heart's contempt.

Masaru also sided with Makoto. "This is the children's paradise I wanted all along, I'm in!"

Kotoko and Jataru just followed the group. After all, Kotoko found alter ego adorable, and Jataru saw the system as a free pass out of bullying.

"Well that's just a load of bullshit! You jerks, the lot of you!" Junko was caught completely off-guard by the warriors of hope stabbing her in the back so quickly. Her personality returned to that of a mindless monster in an extreme rage. "You were supposed to give your lives to me! What's happening?!"

Monaca smiled sweetly as she exclaimed, "We're giving you the despair you clearly want from this world! After all, Having your big plan foiled at the last second is just about the most despair-inducing thing ever, don't you think? Monaca is always happy to help big sis!"

Junko, realizing that she had failed, changed personality again and began to cry softly. A single tear bounced from her left cheek, to her knee to the ground. After this, she covered her face, causing the remaining tears to splash. "Thank you... Monaca. I feel, I feel so excited. I-I'm finally not bored with everything going my way!"

Byakuya sighed, "Nervous breakdown? I have no time for such plebian rubbish."

Kiyotaka was quick to object to Byakuya. "Remember rule 1? She is on the same level as you now. Besides, your family corporation are all dead. If you wish to do well in society, you must accept your new place!"

Monaca was also annoyed with Byakuya. "Aww, Togami. You totally stole Monaca's thunder! I was going to add to Junko's despair by insulting her breakdown, I don't need you to do it for me!"

Byakuya simply sighed in response. _Why have I been reduced to this? My assets destroyed by a fashon model, my everything destroyed by that little kid, and now I'm being led by an ordinary peasant who happened to get lucky? This is the worst..._

Junko changed personalities again, returning to her frustrated form. "And this despair was so great, knowing that I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

"Um, I'm fairly sure that's copyright..." Hifumi questioned.

"Rule 6." Thanks, Nagisa.

Junko then changed to her playful form. "But now I think my desire for despair has been satisfied. After all, it's not like despair is unpredictable anymore or anything." She then changed to her overBEARing Queen form. "Yes, as Makoto said, hope is much more fitting now. I must stick with the times, you know."

 **A/N:** Junko's motive for despair is because it spreads in an unpredictable manner. This is mentioned in trigger happy havoc and DR/Zero. By removing that motive, Junko would likely do a personality shift towards the less boring hope rather quickly. So no, I didn't need my last plot convenience here!

Monaca made another innocent smile (although this time, it actually _was_ innocent) "So big sis, you're in?"

Junko moved on to her wild personality. "Hell yeah I am! Despair is SO last season! I'm not that boring type who won't change."

Alter ego's avatar shed a tear of joy when he realized that he had helped switch everyone from despair to hope. The population of 45 was NOT going down any further!

Speaking of alter ego, Makoto had realized he'd completely forgotten to thank him! "Alter ego, thank you so much for taking hope from the jaws of despair for me.

"Aww, you're welcome. That being said, I must thank you for connecting me to the network and giving me access to the power I need to help Lord Chihiro."

Masaru questioned alter ego's title for Chihiro, "Lord? Shouldn't it be la-"

Makoto interrupted. "Maybe Chihiro is male."

Chihiro was shocked. "H-how did you know that? Have you been somewhere I don't know about...?"

"No, just a lucky guess. I had a 50/50 chance of being right, after all." _Actually, it was because I thought alter ego knows more about Chihiro than we do. The AI says Lord, and I assume male. Simple as that!_

Subtle laughs and groans filled the room. Chihiro wasn't afraid to join in the laughter, despite being the target. After all, he could finally have people accept his identity.

At this point, the group split up to enjoy their first truly "free" free time. Cue the filler...

* * *

 **A/N:** As the remnants of despair are on the same side as the monokumas, they would likely be the last on the to kill list. Hence, they survive. Also, the next chapter is all free time, so skip to chapter 5 for the next part of the story.

Also, the rule system Makoto came up with was **not** made up for this fanfiction.

In fact, it is theorized to be the first ever society structure. The reason why this system worked for 40,000+ years is because it covers all bases. It provides incentives to work, gives people a safety net, and promotes cooperation. People have to work because if others aren't in their debt, then they won't get help when necessary. However, the ability to fall into others' debts means people at the bottom of the pile don't get screwed. On top of this, if someone is getting too far ahead, they end up being equalized with the rest of the population because they have to give to others. Finally, the fact that everyone is forced to help others makes it such that friendships form much more easily. By the way, the Massai still use this rule system for the tradition of Osotua to this day, and yes: it **does** work for them. So, for all those who wish there were a system better than capitalism and communism, here you go. :)

That being said, even this system isn't perfect. Rule 2bi makes the system extremely vulnerable to prejudice, as when people hate a certain group, they won't try to help them.


	4. The start of normal life

**A/N:** I decided to have some free time so I could try my hand on making the characters interact with each-other outside the killing game. After all, I want to do it before the SDR2 characters get in the mix and I have 4x as many relationships to worry about!

Veos G17: Thanks for the positive feedback! I'll be sure to keep Makoto smart, so there are no mess up moments.

Also, sorry for the lack of haste. I'm very slow at writing to begin with, and figuring out how to do free time events for the first time only made the writers' block worse. Add to that the fact that this is a long chapter, and the delays become very apparent.

* * *

Makoto decided to talk to the false Junko, so he could figure out her true identity.

Mukuro was in the gymnasium, practicing some of her military moves. After punching a ball, she noticed Makoto, and stopped her training. "Hello. What do you need?"

"Are you the person who masqueraded as Junko back when we met?" Makoto questioned.

"Yes. My real name is Mukuro Ikusaba. I am Junko's older sister, and the ultimate soldier. Also, thank you for making her happy earlier. I never could have guessed that she wanted her plan to be foiled. I was with her as a part of the ultimate despair, and caused what you see now. I... I deeply regret it." _What is this feeling? Is it fear? This is the first time I have ever felt this feeling. And to think, I'm scared of him, an average, pathetic high schooler when I've faced entire armies?! What is happening to me?..._

Makoto noticed that Mukuro was acting strangely. "What's up? You seem a little on edge. Has not being able to leave gotten to you or...?"

"Y-yes. Not being able to leave. That's it"

Makoto tried to cheer Mukuro up, "Don't worry, it's not like this is the end of the wo- Oh. It is the end of the world..." but he failed.

"It looks like the despair hasn't hit you yet. I must say, I am jealous. However, I must thank you for reforming Junko. I did not know it would be anything so... **Easy** as changing what she viewed as natural."

Makoto didn't agree with Mukuro. "I wouldn't call that easy. I honestly didn't expect Junko to react the way she did. Heck, I didn't even know why she wanted despair, let alone how to break that motive!"

"And yet, you did exactly that."

Makoto didn't have a response, and stammered.

"So, what took me my whole life to fail at took you two days to do unintentionally? I should have expected as much from the ultimates."

Makoto was still being very cautious with how to approach the conversation. One wrong step and he'd have the ultimate soldier in a nervous breakdown to deal with. Better get out those two geno-scissors again! Because of this, he stayed silent and took a few steps back.

Mukuro's inner distress became painfully visible, and her thoughts became fragile.

Trigger happy heart

 _I spent my whole life disappointing Junko._

 _Yet, this **random boy** cheers her up in two days?!_

 _I never thought standing by her side was bad._

 _So, I helped destroy the world for nothing?_

 _I don't know how I will forgive myself._

 _Especially as there is no way to **undo the damage** I caused._

Truth bullets: Affirmation. Random boy

" **I've got it!"** Makoto knew this counter was how to give Mukuro hope. "I will admit, I was quite literally picked at random. However, even a truly random system can yield unexpected results, such as the world becoming inhabitable again. Although it's mainly thanks to Chihiro, I'm sure we can fix this mess."

A voice played through the monitors. "Yep. I'm making the world inhabitable as we speak. That being said, it could take a while..."

Makoto was concerned, "How long is a while?"

Alter ego's avatar showed a depressed face. "Something on the scale of a few years."

Makoto and Mukuro both grimaced at how they would be staying in the academy doing next to nothing for several years. It was not an exciting prospect...

Mukuro had found yet another problem with alter ego's worldbuilding. "Unfortunately, alter ego can only make the world inhabit _able_. It is impossible to replace the world's inhabitants." _Although I'm not too sure_ ** _some_** _people need to come back..._

Makoto was alarmed by this. "I... Great. I completely forgot about that. I guess some damage just can't be undone."

Alter ego made a rude interruption. "Can't you just so it the normal way."

Both Makoto and Mukuro blushed, and took defensive stances. "N-no! We can't do that!"

Mukuro began to get more annoyed. "ANYWAY. Once the tragedy started, we couldn't stop it, even if we tried."

"Wait. If you and Junko both decided to stop the tragedy, why wouldn't you be able to?"

"As a soldier, I have been exposed to humanity's true nature much more than you have. Humans like myself are selfish, violent creatures who would stop at nothing to get a job done, even if that job is completely arbitrary. Once we were pushed in the wrong direction, a large amount of the violence between the tragedy itself and Monaca's finisher was not monokumas killing people, but people killing people. Thus, stopping the monokumas would not stop the tragedy because **humans accept "kill or be killed".** "

" **No, that's wrong!"** Makoto had found another weak point to counter. "If all humans accepted killing over arbitrary goals, then our killing game would have gone ahead. It's clear that humanity wasn't as bad as you think it was."

"I know that some humans are not evil. Yet, in the tragedy, all those diplomats and mediators were killed. This meant that the loudest voices were not voices of reason. The only exception was here, because of the evacuation center. You 14 were cut off from the rest of the world. We couldn't go straight for the throat and kill you all, because Sakura would have been able to fend us off. Thus, we tried to get you to kill each-other like with everyone else. I have a feeling it would have actually worked if it weren't for those images. It's a good job they were the first motive we gave you."

"First? As in there were more?"

"Yes. If you continued further, we would have threatened to reveal your darkest secrets, offered 1 billion yen, and labelled Sakura a traitor."

"Wow, talk about detailed. I'm fairly certain that would have gotten anyone to go off the rails. It's a good job it never came to that, right?"

"Correct. We are lucky that Junko's plan wasn't foolproof. You've went from being stuck in the academy to... Being stuck in the academy?"

Makoto let out a chuckle. "Nothing has actually changed, has it? I guess context really is key."

"Context?"

"Yeah. Earlier, we were trying to escape from a small building to a mediocre world. Now, we're comparing the same small building to a different, much worse world. Now that we've seen the alternative, stuffy building doesn't sound all that bad..."

"That makes some sense. After all, we always strive for what we see as 'best', regardless of what that best option may be. When we don't agree on what is best is when we start to get violent."

Makoto didn't know how to react, so he just smiled and nodded. _I'd say she had a really good time._

The pair the spent the next few hours talking about the tragedy and following events.

"Oh, I'm glad you made me forget about all that! Hearing it from an outside perspective is so much better than what remembering pure fear and despair could be like."

"Huh? I was thinking about asking Alter Ego to give back your memories. But, if you don't want them, that's fine as well! Anyway, I want to spend some time with Junko now. Thanks for the enjoyable afternoon!"

"You're welcome. See you later!"

With that, free time ended, and Makoto walked to his room. After all the events throughout the day, Makoto was knackered, and collapsed onto his bed. He quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Junko and the warriors of hope were provided beds on the upper floors. Nagisa was in the library, Junko was in the headmaster's office, Masaru was in the games room, Kotoko was in the garden, Monaca was in the data center, and Jataru was in the art room.

* * *

 _ **Day 4**_

Makoto's fourth day since his memory wipe began. Makoto woke up at around 8 am, and walked to the breakfast meeting. Luckily, he was timed well with the clock, and was just after Kiyotaka, Byakuya and Celeste. Mukuro came soon after. Everyone else, on the other hand, were enjoying some well-deserved lie-ins. They didn't know what was going on with alter ego, so were still yet to wrap their heads around what was going on. Needless to say, they needed some rest.

On a monitor, alter ego spoke. "Hello you four. I'd like to give you a quick decision. I could make the Earth inhabitable as quickly as possible, or I could make the monokumas do some excavation for about a year, and give you loads of great views when you get out. It depends on whether you want to get out in the short term or make the world bettter in the long term."

Taka was quick to jump to a conclusion. "Rule 4 clearly states we should improve our environment to the highest degree possible. Thus, I choose the views."

Makoto agreed. "The views don't seem like a bad idea, especially as we're staying here for many years _anyway_."

Celeste was also happy. "I thought we were to stay here forever, so even the views option comes as a nice surprise for getting out quickly. I consent."

Byakuya was also for the idea of views. "I do believe that being able to live in a good world will be an excellent experience. Togami family corporations prides itself in pursuing long-term goals, so I choose the views."

"You only needed to say the last four words... However, if you're all unanimous, I say we go with the views. Also, the observation platform in the data center is now complete, thanks to some very helpful advice from Monaca just before she went to sleep."

 _She's being kind to put us all in her debt already?_ Makoto grimaced, _Wow. And, by helping alter ego, she made sure we didn't get a choice in the matter. I have a feeling we'll all be slaves to her rather quickly if this keeps up! However, a kind evil mastermind is an evil mastermind that's good in my books!_

As he had a couple of hours before the mid-morning meeting, he decided to kill some time by sorting out his room. Looks like the toolkit would come in handy! He fixed his shower door, and sorted his clothes into the drawers, ensuring that they were all folded neatly.

* * *

Makoto then decided to meet up with Monaca, as he had plentiful questions to ask her about the tragedy.

Monaca was busy fiddling with some monokuma parts in the library when Makoto walked in. "Hello. What do you want with Monaca?"

"I'd like to talk about what happened a year ago."

"The tragedy? Which bit of it do you want to know about? The part where Monaca coerced Towa group into mass producing monokumas? The part where we made havoc on the news, turning millions into evil terrorists? Oh, or the panic button, and why I didn't press it until you messed everything up."

"Well, you've just summarized it now! However, one question: if you were trying to spread despair, why call youselves the warriors of hope?"

"Well, Masaru called it that because of his hope for the chldren's paradise, and the name stuck. I didn't like it, but it served its purpose of making us recognize ourselves. Somewhat like how the monokumas served their purpose of creating wars. Whatever works, huh."

 _She has a point. There's no reason to fix what isn't broken, especially if it's just a misleading name._

"Anyway, how did you manage to stop Monaca's plan? I thought everything was falling into place..."

Makoto had to improvise a response. "Uh... Y-you can blame Junko for letting the academy fall? Also, alter ego hacking into everything worked in my favor as well. With that much on my side, even I can see where I got "ultimate lucky student" from, haha. Oh, I so did not deserve to win..." Makoto began to chuckle.

Monaca was still rather salty at her plan not succeeding. She was good a hiding it, yes, but a tint of rage tainted her voice. "That you didn't. Yet, Monaca has to admit her defeat. It is not common for Monaca to fail."

Makoto was still notably smug, but he took a slightly less malicious tone. "Still, I didn't expect such a large machine to fall so easily. Was there anything near the surface that was vulnerable?"

"I think there was a fuel leak, yes. I think you cut a wire and set it ablaze. Quite how you didn't get burnt to a crisp is beyond me."

"I was on a bit of fur that bent away from the fire. Blame my ultimate luck, again."

"Aw, man. And to think that Monaca's plan was foiled by some stupid luck, and that good-for-nothing big sis' Junko! Seriously, how did she lose the academy?!" Monaca began to enter a nervous breakdown. "Hacks, hacks... I call hacks!"

"Actually, it was alter ego hacking into the system, so that was a lucky guess on your part."

Monaca screamed, while storming through the room. Yet, her tantrum ended quite quickly, and she took a deep breath. "However, you aren't exactly wasting opportunities. M-Monaca congratulates you. You win. Anyway, what should we do now that we're at peace?"

"I don't know. Whatever sits right with you."

"Sure."

After a few hours of Monaca playing around the second floor, Makoto noticed something.

"If you're paralyzed, how did you make it up to this floor?"

"What the?! H-how did you find out that I'm faking my paralysis for sympathy?"

"I didn't. You just told me."

"Damn..." _So much for that disguise. Well, I'd say a few years was quite enough for me to be stuck in a wheelchair._ Monaca then stood up, and walked to the first floor stairs. "I guess the cat's out of the bag. Alter ego, can you claim I was cured or something?"

"Understood. I don't want a fake paralysis causing everyone to start doubting each-other. Shall I make an announcement?"

"Sure. Go ahead." Monaca now had a remarkably wide grin as she could finally stand again.

The TV screens thoughout the school lit up with alter ego's face. "Hello all. I must make another announcement. I have just cured Monaca's paralysis so, if you see her walking around, don't be creeped out."

Everyone reacted in shock at the fact that Monaca could be cured so easily. It was immediately followed by requests for all sorts of other ailments to be cured. As alter ego had access to all of the medical records in history and a LOT of school equpiment, he could cure most of them with ease.

* * *

Makoto then decided to run along to the cafeteria, as he was hungry for lunch. He saw a monokuma repainting the walls to give the academy a more homely feel. _I think I'd like to live somewhere more accommodating than a school. Thanks, monokuma._

While having his lunch, he saw Sayaka (who had the same idea as him!) "Hi, Makoto! I haven't seen you today."

Sayaka was one of the people who missed the breakfast meeting, so Makoto actually hadn't met Sayaka yet.

"No, we haven't met today. No better time than the present to fix that?"

"No better time than the present. Come on, let's get some lunch, I am _starving_." Sayaka and Makoto lightly jogged into the main queue, and grabbed their food. Makoto decided to go for an organic burger with a small salad. An average size, average amount of meat, and average healthiness. Meanwhile, Sayaka went for a large plate of sushi with some sweets on the side. She claimed that singing practice needed energy, so the sweets were to "refuel". Suuure...

Healthy or not, the two took a small table near the corner, and dug in. Between mouthfuls, they decided to have some idle chat regarding the situation they were in.

"It isn't that great being stuck in here, but it's better than the alternative! Oh, I have an idea: why don't we change the rules so if a person kills someone else and gets away with it, they get expelled." Sayaka joked. Makoto found it more funny than he should have, and dropped a piece of lettuce. Luckily, it didn't land on the floor, so he could pick it up and eat it anyway.

Overall, the pair had a good time over lunch. They then decided to go over to the gym, so Sayaka could have a quick practice run of her latest solo.

Alter ego decided to troll Sayaka, seeing as Makoto was watching her. "Because Makoto now makes up over 2% of the world's population, this is proportionally the largest live audience to a gig of all time! No pressure, Maizono..."

 _Gee, thanks for the heads up, jerk. Now I actually have to not flub this! Come on, Sayaka, you haven't messed anything up yet, and it's only one person!_

Makoto noticed that Sayaka was stressed, "Don't worry. It's just me! You know I'm one of _those_ saps who likes it even if it isn't good."

This calmed the singer down significantly. It was one of her first solo performances, so she did hit a few wrong notes, but Makoto didn't notice that anything was off, and continued cheering.

Eventually, Sayaka hit her stride and began to sing with perfect pitch. She then began the next verse, and increased the speed and volume gradually to give the music a more intense feel, while also making the notes flow from one to the next in an orderly fashion.

In the final verse, almost everything was turned up to maximum, and Syaka hit every note perfectly. It was an extremely strong streak, and Makoto was entranced in the hype. She eventually finished with a dive into the crowd... Only to realize that there wasn't a crowd there. Makoto missed the catch, and Sayaka fell flat on her face! However, she shook off the minor embarrassment with a playful laugh. After all, she didn't have to feel guilty when it was her own misery she was laughing at.

Makoto helped Sayaka stand up before the two walked back the dorms. After such an exhilarating concert, Makoto was exhausted. Along the way, they found Byakuya, who seemed deeply concerned.

 _I have to interact with people to be better off, but I just don't know where to start!_ "Why must this be so challenging?"

Makoto had figured that Byakuya would struggle interacting with others. Luckily, he knew just the person for Byakuya. "Maybe if you try talking to Celeste? She's very **similar to you** , so I think you'd enjoy being with her."

"As you seem to be more experienced in 'socializing' than I am, I will take up your suggestion."

Byakuya then went to Celestia's dorm. He knocked lightly, trying to be as polite as possible. Celeste opened the door. "Hello. How are you on this fine day? Please come in."

Knowing that they would get along well, Makoto moved on. He came across his own dorm, and walked in. Even though it was still early afternoon, he was quite tired. He told Sayaka he was about to have a quick nap, before closing the door and drifting off to sleep. Sayaka left him be, and went to her own dorm to organize some singing equipment.

* * *

About an hour later, Makoto woke up, and left his room. He then saw Chihiro on his way upstairs. He was searching through Alter Ego's files and the data for the recovery, and linked the progress statuses to his computer. This allowed him to see what was going on in the outside world. He seemed fluent at typing with one hand and carrying the laptop with the other. He then sat down on a nearby chair, and continued typing.

"Oh. Hello, Makoto! I didn't see you there. Need anything?"

"Not particularly, other than someone to talk to."

"Well, that I can do. What do you want to speak with me about?"

"Well, Alter Ego would probably be a good start. What is he, exactly?"

Chihiro smiled gently. "OK. Alter Ego is an artificial general intelligence. What this means is that he is designed to be as human like as possible in that he can adapt to what he is doing and modify his own code if the situation demands it."

"You've already lost me..."

Chihiro, seeing that Makoto wasn't very well-versed in the concepts of AI, decided to give him a quick lesson. After all, it is still a school! Alter ego chimed in a couple of times, but left most of the work to Chihiro. After a couple of hours, Makoto felt a little bit smarter, and knew a bit about the technical side of AI.

He also tried to ask about the morals behind AI, but Chihiro simply dodged the question. "To a computer, morals are both everything and nothing. They are built to do nothing but follow rules, yet they have no feelings regarding what those rules are. To compare it with human morals is a mistake. Oh, and it's also a huge programming headache! Especially when you need to get it to break rules for a greater cause."

"So, morals and AI don't really mix? That doesn't sound good..."

A voice erupted from the monitors. "Don't worry! I was programmed with the best intentions, so I won't perform any actions you don't want unless either my programming changes or your desires change. Neither of which really happen on a fundamental level."

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. He then left the room, as discussing the subtleties of advanced computing was a bit too much for his brain...

* * *

After about an hour of rest, Makoto decided to join the group for dinner. It was decided that dinner time was to be around 6:30pm, so the group could talk to each other.

Makoto sat between Sayaka and Mukuro, holding a plate of curry. It wasn't too spicy, but wasn't exactly mild either. Mondo was the first to dig in (mainly because he didn't know what 'manners' meant, and started before the others sat down).

Between mouthfuls, the group began to discuss various issues regarding their new lives. Hifumi ensured that the most important issue was addressed. "If all the anime creators are dead, how can we get the sequels! I need my anime!"

"Is this 'anime' you speak of the one involving cartoon-style characters in intense physical and social situations?" Alter Ego asked, "If that is the case, I should be able to use my algorithms to continue them as faithfully as possible. I will also ensure that the plot will be as impressive as possible."

"I'm saved! Thanks, Alter Ego!"

* * *

After 30 minutes of walking around the school, Makoto received a message from Alter Ego. "Query: I've found a file that I don't know what to do with. It is called 'Chiaki_Avatar' and claims to be an executable file, but it seems to contain a 3D printing file. It could be a template for a virtual reality AI. Do you want to check the description?"

"Yes. Also, no need to be so formal!"

"OK. Here you go."

The file's description read: _Avatar for Hope Restoration Project._ _To be used in the island simulation. Likes video games, quiet. May be used as a 1-up_ _in case of 0 HP._

Makoto gave the command to print Chiaki's avatar. After pressing enter, a warning message appeared on a monitor.

"This structure is unstable and has a lot of chemical energy. It is either a bomb or something organic. Continue?"

"Yes." With this command, Makoto fathered the second Chiaki, who was printed in the physics lab. After about 10 minutes, she was able to walk out of the experimental 3-D printer, alive and well. She started by looking around her surroundings, when Makoto walked through the door.

"Hello? Are you OK?" Makoto was trying to be careful regarding the girl, just in case he reveals too much. He was still admittedly surprised at the fact the '1-up' was an actual person.

The copy of Chiaki sighed, "I'm about as well as a dead girl can get. Before you ask, yes. I know that I am the copy. Well, I'm back, so what's going on?"

Alter ego promptly gave Chiaki a ton of exposition on what happened in the tragedy.

"Oh. That's... That's about as bad as things can get. Um... I don't think we can sort out something like THAT. After all I'm the only one who gave myself a 1-up. I should have given Hajime an extra life when I had the chance..." Chiaki tried her hardest to hold back her tears.

Seeing that Chiaki was under stress, Makoto tried to change the topic. "Well, it looks like your avatar thing works! Who would have thought there was another person within Alter Ego."

Chiaki was more annoyed with Makoto's remark, however. "Trying to change the topic? We should probably call you the ultimate ray of sunshine or something, ha ha."

Makoto walked out of the room, knowing Chiaki was OK. _Sayaka will probably kill me if I stick around any longer. Also, Ultimate ray of sunshine does NOT roll off the tongue very well. I think_ _'_ _Ultimate_ _H_ _ope_ _'_ _works better._ _Anyway, I should probably tell the others about our new arrival._ "Alter Ego, I think you should tell the others about Chiaki."

The voice on the monitors turned on again. "This is an announcement from Alter Ego. There was a 3-D printing template for a human being in my files, so you have another person on the team."

The general reaction was one of "WTF?!" as the idea of a person being created artificially went through their minds. Not fully believing Alter Ego, the group went to the physics lab to see Chiaki for themselves.

Makoto, on the other hand, moved the other way and returned to his dorm. After all, he has had enough of all of the weirdness that is Danganronpa for one day. He drifted off to sleep, ready for the next day to start.

* * *

 _ **Day 6**_

Makoto woke up at around half seven on day 6 of the not-killing game. He had a quick shower before getting dressed and heading to the breakfast meeting. As he sat down, he noticed that Chiaki still had everyone's attention. _Well, I guess someone who lives twice is quite the spectacle. Athough, with our lost memories, it's not exactly like we're any different. Anyway, I'm hungry, so I'll get some breakfast._

Makoto walked behind the counter and picked up some toast. He sat between Byakuya and Chihiro. Chihiro mentioned that the 77th class were arriving today, as Ishimaru was the only other one who still remembered that the 77th class was even coming!

Alter Ego had just reconstructed the floor 2 dorms, so the second class had a place to sleep. After about an hour of preparation in the main hall, the cast of danganronpa 2 arrived...

* * *

 **A/N:** I will end this chapter here, as it's already long enough (read: way too long) for one chapter.

I may want to incorporate timeskips in future to avoid this problem...


End file.
